5.27.2009

Prayer

One thing that has been on my mind lately is prayer. I'm always wondering if I'm praying "right". Is there a wrong way to pray?
Today I was reading one of my daily blogs and I was reminded of the ACTS acronym as a memory tool to help me stay focused during my prayer time.
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
If that is confusing, you can also use PAST
Praise (Adoration)
Apologize (Confession)
Supplication (Ask)
Thank (Thanksgiving)

PRAISE (Adoration) - You can start by saying........I praise God because He is ____________ .

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD”.
Psalm 150:6

APOLOGIZE (Confess) - to God for things we’ve done wrong.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

SUPPLICATION (Ask) - for things you and others need!
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8

THANK (Thanksgiving) - God for answered prayers, things He has done in our lives, and also for the blessings we and others have received.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1
My next biggest step is to establish a time/routine of prayer. This could be before
bed, before meals, in the morning, before work, or on the car ride home from work.
Secondly, I need to look for prayer opportunities. Perhaps even more important than
having an established prayer time is taking advantage of life opportunities to teach
each other about prayer, but also that God is our strength and source of power and
encouragement in this life. When we turn to God throughout our day, we
demonstrate for everyone in a very powerful way that He is with us 24/7 and is
always available to us, His children.

6 comments:

Lauren said...

I have found that talking to God throughout the day is the most effective means of communication. If someone has a prayer request, i will grab their hand and pray for it right then! Saying, "I will pray for you" is ineffective for me because I will forget. Sometimes, when I get email prayer requests, I will type out a prayer and email it back just so I know that I have talked to God about it and that helps me to continue praying about it.

Love you!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for that post! I always wonder if I'm praying the "right" way. But like Lauren said just talking to Him thru out the day helps me feel His presence. I also receive daily proverbs in the mornings and the lady that sends them, sets her calendar at work for a specific time everymorning to pray and talk to Him.

Leah Robinson said...

I agree ladies! Praying throughout the day is what I've always done...but sometimes I feel as though I left "something" out. Or I'm not saying the right thing. So this has helped me to at the end of the day make sure I thank Him most of all :)

Chelsa said...

i like this acronym as well, it helps me to remember each thing. but i agree that i talk to the Lord all day long. and if i go for awhile during the day w/out talking to him i find myself getting frustrated easily and other things like that.

lauren-- i like the emailing it to yourself.

Courtney, Jeff, Ayla & Leah said...

I just read that on MckMama's site today to and it stuck with me. Good to see others are struggling, thinking, and fixing the same things as me. :) GOod luck with your routine, it will happen!

Amy S said...

Great post Leah! THANKS!!